Call for defibrillators in all new housing estates

A bid to have defibrillators installed in all new housing developments as part of the planning process was made at the September meeting of Athlone Moate Municipal District.

The call came from Cllr John Dolan by way of a motion which he put before the meeting, describing the proposal as “a no brainer.” He said the average cost of installing a defibrillator is “around €2,500” which could save a life, and he said all big housing developments should have at least one defibrillator, and this should be made a condition of the planning process.

Cllr Dolan also remarked that it was “fairly frightening” to see the number of defibrillators across the district which are “either out of order or have flat batteries” and he said it was of the “utmost importance” that all these life-saving devices are kept in perfect working order at all times.

The motion received widespread support from all the councillors, with the response from the council Executive stating that it will be considered “in the preparation of the forthcoming Urban Area Plan for Athlone”.

Cllr Vinny McCormack said the planning process should be integrated and he called for the motion to be implemented “right across the country”.